… Alexia Derbas and Mes Souliers sont Rouges (My Shoes are Red)

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel distressed and despairing about the state of the world, just now I can’t listen to sad music in case I crack under the load: too much cruelty out there. Luckily it’s also hard to resist the uplifting power of joyful music, my personal panacea. My album of the week, Proches, a live album by French band Mes Souliers sont Rouges, has been cheering me up for 16 years. Hard to find one song that captures the feeling as it’s the journey of the album that’s transforming. This comes close: